10 Gallon Softie Tank - "Honey I Shrunk the Reef" - RETIRED 2-16-18

[Dos Ocho]

Thanks vlangel! Still bummed about my shrooms, but I am feeling a lot better about this tank. I wish I could take better photos. It looks so empty but in person, it is teeming with life. Especially all the pods in the caulerpa field. I may try a shroom again down the road. I do love them!

 

Thank you JcSH2o. The big chunky one is fairly new. The little guy was part of my first coral purchase. He only had two heads for months then exploded with growth. I love them both! 

[Dos Ocho]

Update time!! Did some extensive cleaning this morning. Scraped the glass really good and a fairly thorough sand bed vacuuming. Pruned about a half a cereal bowl of Caulerpa. The Hypnea is all but dead now, but the shaving brush is well. No new sprouts yet, but the main stalk is healthy.

One of the Anthelia polyps is very long and was getting stick in the filter intake. So I glued a piece of rubble above the coral and it’s blocking them very well. 

The GSP is finally spreading!! Xenia is growing. I sent the small Blasto back to the biocube. Just didn’t like him in the 10 for some reason. His big cousin is nice and plump and is happy.

Was spooked by a mystery critter while cleaning the glass today. A brown shrimp about 1/2” long zipped out from behind the heater. Must have come in on the hypnea. He swam away too fast for a picture. Hope he plays nice with his roommates.

My girl came back from Florida last night and we added a couple clam shells after an overnight peroxide soak. Adds to the ambiance IMO.

Tried to get some crab pix today but they were all being shy and non-photogenic. King Crab was busy beating up one of the others. He’ll probably make a day of it. Jerk.

Not much is going to change in this tank going forward. I will be putting a couple more algae specimens when I get some for my new 40. Also looking at Cespitularia for the top of the big rock to round out my coral specimens. Looking to pick one up in a few months when I start adding coral to the 40.

Thanks for looking!!

[Dos Ocho]

All good things, must come to an end....

 

This may possibly be the last week for my 10 gallon. After my 40 long came online, i really don't like managing 3 tanks. So my idea is to expand the fuge of my 40 from a 20 gallon long to a 33 gallon long. I will transfer as much of the livestock from the 10 to the new fuge as i can grab. It will be a win-win for me, one less tank to manage and a chance to make my new fuge an even bigger and more elaborate display. After things settle, i'll definitely add more algae, chaeto and possibly a different caulerpa variety. The bumbling crabs will of course come along for the ride. Got a new one that hitchhiked in my last snail order, so that brings the total to 8 of the little buggers. 

 

So i'm just keeping things on autopilot until the transfer. All is well in the little 10. Some of the Xenia is breaking off and one stalk attached itself to a shell, so i moved it over. The GSP is steady, the Anthelia is really starting to take off. The more i see it grow, the more it's becoming one of my favorites! The caulerpa is spreading all over as expected, but i dig the wild look. Can't wait to see it expand further in it's new home. 

 

So, kinda sad that this little experiment is coming to an end, but it will live on as the bottom half of my new system. I have also been told by my lady friend that we may replace the 10 gallon with a planted freshwater tank that she has been wanting to do. So maybe i'll be managing 3 tanks again ! We'll see.......

 

Anywho, enjoy the pics. Finally got a couple shots of the crabs too, the whole reason this tank started. 

[vlangel]

Nice pics, thanks for sharing.  I am with you, consolidating tanks makes lots of sense.

[Dos Ocho]

So the 10 gets a stay of execution. Sump project won't be until next Saturday, most likely, so the little guy is going to be around for a little while longer. Decided to do some transfer prep work today and removed a good portion o the caulerpa. Wasn't as hard as i thought. I removed the big lines of runners along the walls of the tank. Just had to snip some holdfasts and it pretty much rolled up like carpet. I have it pretty much isolated to the 2 main rocks, and 3 smaller rocks. I'll just use those to populate the new sump. 

Moved the main Xenia rock away from the big rock and a stalk already made the jump to the main rock structure, which is fine. The anthelia and GSP are doing well. I thought the clump of hypnea was toast. Most of it did rot away, but a small amount survived and has even started growing again which is great! Hope it does well going forward. 

 

So, just waiting for the transfer and keeping everything alive in the 10 so as much of it can go to its new home as possible. Tick tock.....tick tock...

[slowngreen]

Good luck! 

[Dos Ocho]

It is done and the 10 gallon is no more. Transferred all the contents to the new fuge for my 40 long. Check out my build to see this small experiment live again. Thanks to everyone who viewed and commented!